Canoelit

A LIFE OF GREAT ADVENTURE
By David Finch, 2000. 304pp Rocky Mountain Books.
$34.95
ISBN: 0-921102-75-5

We are delighted to have a review of a long-awaited book on the legendary northern traveller Raymond Patterson - better known as R.M. To be honest, we should mention that this book arrived just at press time and I was only able to read part of it - naturally the section about his travels near the "River of Death" (Nahanni) in the late '20s.

David Finch, an Alberta-based history scholar has clearly done a remarkable job of putting together the pieces of Patterson's life. Born in England in 1898 and educated at Oxford, Patterson was a prisoner of war in 1918. He later emigrated to Canada and explored the Nahanni region. Patterson then became a rancher in Alberta. He would have a late career in his fifties when he started paddling again turning his hand to writing. He produced several books, notably The Dangerous River in 1954, an incredibly readable tale of his Nahanni adventures. He died in 1984. It's amazing how much detail Finch is able to reconstruct from Patterson's life. He unearthed these gems after Patterson's widow Marigold donated his papers to the B.C. Archives in 1989. One of the most interesting tidbits is the real and dramatic story of Patterson's first visit to "The Falls of the Nahanni (R.M. would not used the name Virginia given in 1928 by American Fenley Hunter after his daughter). Patterson hooked up with veteran woodsman Albert Faille heading up the river that summer of 1927, each in his own boat; the novice and the pro. They became fast friends and though Patterson would leave in a couple of years, Faille spent his entire life in the area searching for that elusive gold. Finch reveals that the passage in Dangerous River of paddling his canoe to the base of the falls and almost being sucked under- a highlight of the book-is not true. He never did get to the falls on that date, instead venturing up the Flat River, a Nahanni tributary, in his search for gold. It was a team effort a short while later that saw both men making the tough stretch up to the falls together - though the last stretch was on foot.

About a quarter of the book is dedicated to the Nahanni years. The rest details his ranching life, at Buffalo Head Ranch for 16 years and the period of adventure travel and doing more paddling in the north.

The book I reviewed was a reading copy without the colour cover so it was impossible to judge the look of the final product. The photos are very interesting but not of uniform quality. David Finch is to be congratulated for doing an immense amount of research to bring forth the story of an interesting man. His style is quite readable and though there is a huge amount of information it is easily digested. Finch highlights a wonderful quote at the end of the book's Nahanni section taken from Patterson's later book Far Pastures when he was preparing to return to the Nahanni in the 1950s.

"I knew that no machine-powered trip in the safe company of men could ever give the wonder of those early years, almost a quarter of a century past, when I had first come poling and tracking my canoe through the canyons, all eyes for what might lie around the next bend, heading into a blank on the map, as did 'untutored men of early ages, to whom everything unknown was marvellous.' You can only do that once. Never again will there be the same thrill, the same sense of achievement, of single-handed victory over obstacles."



PADDLE QUESTCanada's Best Canoe Routes
Edited by Alister Thomas
Boston Mills Press. Erin, ON 2000 300pp.
$24.95
ISBN: 1-55046-311-X

After many years and revisions, name changes and publishing dates, Paddle Quest finally made it to the shelves this past summer. The title is somewhat lame but the content should make up for it.

The book is a collection of 37 trip and destination stories plus 25 profiles of well-known paddlers and it was put together by Alister Thomas of Calgary. It features numerous good-quality black and white photos with some nice colour shots on the front and back covers. I should mention that our group, the Hide-Away Canoe Club is among those honoured to be included in the same breath as the Mason family, Eric Morse, Omer Stringer, George Luste, Kevin Callan and the rest. They have tried to include many locally well-known people from across the entire country.

The trips described run the gamut from far northern wilderness adventures to accessible streams. Some of the river trips covered include; Seal, Churchill, Tatshenshini, Thelon, Morse, Yukon and many others. Stories range from journal accounts of day to day activities to overviews of particular areas like Quetico and Algonquin parks. The final third of the book is a look at a river conservation strategy for the country including the Heritage Rivers system and other ideas for conservation.



SNOWSHOES AND SOLITUDE
Directed by Les Stroud
A Year in the Wabakimi Wilderness
Wilderness Spirit Productions 1999.

The desire to meet the wilderness on its own terms is a strong part of why many of us go there. As the great Stan Rogers wrote, "Tracing one warm line, through a land so wild and savage,' has a romantic appeal.

Snowshoes and Solitude traces one couple's desire to not only spend a year in the bush but to do it with only the tools of 500 years ago. That's right; no metal or plastic, no bug dope or netting, no matches, no pot, knives etc. Not something many of us would ever wish for.

But that's how Don Stroud and Sue Jamison, began their honeymoon in 1994. The setting, the wonderful northern boreal wilderness of Wabikimi , north of Lake Superior.

The film which is a fine example of great post-production is very watchable. One of the things that sets a good video apart and not something most people consider, is the sound. A proper sound mix makes all the difference. Don and Sue who do all the narration are very well spoken and obviously truly committed to getting a lot of shots they needed in tough conditions.

However, a project designed to escape modern day pressures, found them continually yielding to them. They began their year in May 1994 with only their store of traditional food and virtually no accessories. Of course they had a video camera plus a radio telephone. They were struck with how much work everything was. How long it took to gather and cook food, which was done in earthenware pots, logs could only be cut by burning them on a fire that had to be kept going all the time. And to Stroud's credit, he is candid with the viewer. This wasn't an arboreal paradise, it is an awful lot of work to live in a primitive way. They realized that such a primitive existence requires a small community of people, each with their own specialties. Life wasn't always a lot of fun in primitive times, and that's why society developed all the technology.

Their trip was interrupted several times for which they had to fly out. Both their parents took ill, and they had a lingering intestinal illness which was only diagnosed half-way through, plus other health considerations.

In fact, what we see in this film, though completely unintentioned, is the process of evolution itself. The pair began equipping themselves with more modern conveniences as they went along. But it's not seen as a sell-out, it fits in like . . . well, evolution. The successfully overwintered in their cabin - with "40 or 50 leaks."

It's likely very few of our forebears would sit and rhapsodize about the beauties of nature. The wilderness was an enemy, a struggle, a constant battle. Yet, they were far closer to it. It seems you most appreciate its beauty when you are removed from its demands. Snowshoes and Solitude is well worth watching. We will hear more from Don and Sue. The pair recently completed another extended canoe outing, this time with their kids, and will be putting that into a video presentation as well.